Once Again Reporters Try to Decide Who is Allowed to be ‘The Press’

-By Warner Todd Huston

In yet another example of collusion between “the press” and the Democrats, Bill Kelly of Chicago tried to ask a question of Democrat Senator Dick Durbin at a press availability at Chicago’s City Club and met, shall we say, some resistance? As Kelly tried to ask his question, the reporters standing next to Kelly tried to interrupt and shut Kelly down claiming he wasn’t “allowed” to ask a question because he wasn’t “with the press.”

To further prove the hard left bent of the press and to show their contempt for all of us, one of these reporters offered that Kelly was just a Tea Party organizer — “he runs Tea Party rallies,” she said. You can just hear the dripping contempt for the Tea Party that these leftists have.

Even more ridiculous, the Illinois Radio Network’s Jim Anderson himself turned to Kelly and imagined HE had the right to threaten Kelly with removal by “the cops.”

“If you’re not quiet, we’re gonna have you thrown out of the room by the cops, OK? Because you’re trespassing. You have no right to be here,” Anderson blurted out.

Who’s this “we” Anderson was talking about? And, the “right”? Kelly has no “right” to ask his elected official a question?

Who the heck gave “reporter” Jim Anderson the power to call the cops on anyone? He doesn’t run the City Club. Worse, while his own little radio network is hardly worth the effort to call “the press,” no one was trying to prevent this small-time guy from asking his questions.

I urge you to visit the badly designed webpage of Illinois Radio Network. It looks like a 15-year-old in his first year at web class designed it! And THIS guy imagines himself to possess more rights than Bill Kelly? Or you? Or me? And Anderson himself? He was a traffic reporter before he went to the Illinois Radio Network. A traffic reporter! That is hardly “journalism.”

Don’t get me wrong. I think Jim Anderson is as much a journalist as anyone else. But he has neither the “right” nor the standing to decide who is “allowed” to be a reporter than anyone else does. His status as a reporter is barely more advanced than Kelly’s, yet he imagines himself more privileged than the rest of us.

Naturally, Durbin also showed his contempt to his own constituents by refusing to answer the simple question that Kelly was asking. “What part did you play in the downgrade, Senator,” was the basic question Kelly was trying to ask. Seems a pretty good question to me!

As to Kelly’s qualifications, he does write a blog for the Washington Times’ Community section, he has various ventures and has been on the radio in a brokered program in Chicago in the past. Yes he’s been one of those that put on rallies and protests against Democrat corruption, though I don’t think he is a formal member of any of the Tea Party groups in town — still he does have support of many of their members.

Regardless, what is interesting here is how “the press” tried to decide who should be “allowed” to ask a question at a venue they do not either own or control. Who do they think they are? They think they are above you, that’s what. Mr. Jim Anderson, small-time operator that he is, imagines that he is more important than the rest of us lowly riff raff. He’s “the press” after all. He’s important. You folks ain’t nuthin,’ you know?

So, “the press” circles the wagons around Senator Dick Durbin to save him from having to answer a tough question while they lob softballs at him. And we wonder why we aren’t getting the full story, the real news from the vaunted press?

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“The only end of writing is to enable the reader better to enjoy life, or better to endure it.”
–Samuel Johnson

Warner Todd Huston is a Chicago based freelance writer. He has been writing opinion editorials and social criticism since early 2001 and before that he wrote articles on U.S. history for several small American magazines. His political columns are featured on many websites such as Andrew Breitbart’s BigGovernment.com, BigHollywood.com, and BigJournalism.com, as well as RightWingNews.com, RightPundits.com, CanadaFreePress.com, StoptheACLU.com, AmericanDaily.com, among many, many others. Mr. Huston is also endlessly amused that one of his articles formed the basis of an article in Germany’s Der Spiegel Magazine in 2008.

For a full bio, please CLICK HERE.


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